Analysis of Exits in Fire Evacuation and Crowd Management in Multi-Functional Sports Halls
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/ijbes.v12.n1.1259Keywords:
Fire evacuation, Crowd management, Evacuation design, Evacuation simulation, Multi-functional sports halls.Abstract
Crowd management and fire evacuation for assembly buildings are complex design processes in terms of design and construction. It should be designed as the main purpose of the safety of life and property to route the crowd to the nearest exit without creating congestion. This study aims to investigate the effect of exits in sports halls, which can respond to different functions from assembly buildings, for fire evacuation, and crowd management. In evacuation analyses, the effects of existing and alternative exits on the total evacuation time are investigated through Pathfinder evacuation simulations. For this purpose, a typical college sports hall was considered and possible exits were evaluated. Single and double blocking of exits in scenarios that may occur at different points were examined and total evacuation times were analyzed. In the study, it was found that spectators create congestion in sports halls (density of more than 3 people/m2) and are decisive in total evacuation time. It was determined that an exit at a distance from the spectator area could not provide an effective evacuation. Exits close to the spectator area were found to be effective in reducing the total evacuation time and could reduce the total evacuation time by 30 seconds. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the number of exits and exit locations in multi-functional sports halls should be made with rational and performance-based analysis. The importance of preventing congestion and positioning the exits to direct the crowd in an effective fire evacuation and crowd management is explained.
References
Alvarez, A., Meacham, B.J., Dembsey, N.A. (2013). Twenty years of performance-based fire protection design: Challenges faced and a look ahead. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, 23(4): 249-276.
Bodur, A. (2021). Assessing fire safety in sports halls: An investigation from Samsun. The Eurasia Proceedings of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (EPSTEM), 12: 76-84.
Bohannon, R.W., Andrews, A.W. (2011). Normal walking speed: A descriptive metaanalysis. Physiotherapy, 97(3): 182-189.
Brunnberg, K. (2021). The diminishing returns of adding exits in crowd evacuation simulations. Degree Project in Technology, KTH Royal Instıtute of Technology Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stockholm, Sweden.
Cotfas, L.A., Delcea, C., Iancu, L.D., Ioanas, C., Ponsiglion, C. (2022). Large event halls evacuation using an agent-based modeling approach. IEEE Access, 10: 49359-49384.
CTIF, (2024). Center for fire statistics- World fire statistics. International Association of Fire and Rescue Services, Comité Technique International de prevention et d'extinction de Feu, Report No: 29, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Deng, K., Li, M., Wang, G., Hu, X., Zhang, Y., Zheng, H., Tian, K., Chen, T. (2022). Experimental study on panic during simulated fire evacuation using psycho- and physiological metrics. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19: 6905.
Fitzpatrick, K., Brewer, M.A., Turner, S. (2006). Another look at pedestrian walking speed. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1982(1): 21-29.
Government Digital Service, (2024). Fire statistics data tables: FIRE0101: Incidents attended by fire and rescue services by nation and population - FIRE0504: Fatalities from fires by cause of death. Fire and Rescue Services, The National Archives, UK.
Guanquan C., Jinhui, W., Qingsong, W. (2012). Time-dependent fire risk assessment for occupant evacuation in public assembly buildings. Structural Safety, 38: 22-31.
Hadjisophocleous, G.V., Benichou, N., Tamim, A.S. (1998). Literature review of performance-based fire codes and design environment. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, 9(1): 12-40.
Haghani, M., Coughlan, M., Crabb, B. et al. (2023). A roadmap for the future of crowd safety research and practice: Introducing the Swiss cheese model of crowd safety and the imperative of a vision zero target. Safety Science, 168: 106292.
Hsu, E.B., Burkle, F.M.Jr. (2012). Cambodian Bon Om Touk stampede highlights preventable tragedy. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 27(5): 1-2.
Khan, A.A., Noji, E.K. (2016). Hajj Stampede Disaster, 2015: Reflections from the frontlines. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 11(1): 59-68.
Kobes, M., Post, J., Helsloot, I., De Vries, B. (2008). Fire risk of high-rise buildings based on human behavior in fires. First International Conference on fire Safety of High-rise Buildings, Bucharest.
Li, B., Fitzgerald, J., Schultz, C. (2022). Modelling the impacts of crowds on occupants in the built environment - A static, rule-based approach to human perception and movement. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 51: 101452.
Mattsson, T., Umeh, E. (2022). Impact of lecture hall layout on evacuations using crowd simulations. Degree Project in Technology, KTH Royal Instıtute of Technology Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Stockholm, Sweden.
Meacham, B.J. (2010). Risk-informed performance-based approach to building regulation. Journal of Risk Research, 13(7): 877-893.
Minegishi, Y., Takeichi, N. (2018). Design guidelines for crowd evacuation in a stadium for controlling evacuee accumulation and sequencing. Japan Architectural Review, 1(4): 471-485.
Murray, H. (2023). NFPA 13 performance-based design solutions. Consulting-Specifying Engineer, January 2023.
NFPA 101, (2024). NFPA 101-Life Safety Code. National Fire Protection Association, USA.
Pathfinder, (2017). Technical reference. ThunderheadEngineering. Retrieved from https://www2.thunderheadeng.com/files/com/pathfinder/tech_ref.pdf Accessed 26 December 2023.
Rinne, T., Tillander, K., Grönberg, P. (2010). Data collection and analysis of evacuation situations. VTT Research Notes, 2562, Finland.
Selo, K., Erdonmez, E. (2018). Stadyum’s evolution in the historical context of sport spaces. Urban Academy, 11(4): 559-574. [in Turkish]
Simsek, Z., Catıkkas, M. (2020). Fire safety at assembly buildings: Sample of culture centre at a university campuse. Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research, 7(55): 1772-1785. [in Turkish]
Sivaloganathan, S., Green, M.A. (1998a). The bradford fire disaster. Part 1. The initial investigations: who died, where and how?. Medicine, Science and the Law, 29(4): 279-283.
Sivaloganathan, S., Green, M.A. (1998b). The bradford fire disaster. Part 2. Accident reconstruction: who died, when and why. Medicine, Science and the Law, 29(4): 284-286.
Shokouhi, M., Nasiriani, K., Khankeh, H., Fallahzadeh, H., Khorasani-Zavareh, D. (2019). Exploring barriers and challenges in protecting residential fire-related injuries: A qualitative study. Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 11(1), 81-92.
Sunder, K. (2023). The true story behind Trial by Fire, which recounts one of India's most tragic blazes. Arts & Culture, Url: https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv Accessed 26 December 2023.
TRFP, (2007). Turkey’s Regulation on Fire Protection. Council of Ministers, Ankara, Turkey. Retrieved from https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr. Accessed 26 December 2023.
van der Wal, C.N., Robinson, M.A., Bruine de Bruin, W., Gwynne, S., (2021). Evacuation behaviors and emergency communications: An analysis of real-world incident videos. Safety Science, 136: 105121.
Wang, J.H. Yan, W.Y. Zhi, Y.R. Jiang, J.C. (2016). Investigation of the panic psychology and behaviors of evacuation crowds in subway emergencies. Procedia Engineering, 135: 128-137.
Yaman, M. (2021). Ögrenci yurt binalarında yangın güvenlik önlemleri ve tahliye simülasyonları. Tasarım+Kuram, 17(34): 123-138. [in Turkish]
Yaman, M., Kurtay, C. (2021). Investigation on evacuation scenarios according to occupant profile in mosques through different fire regulations. A|Z ITU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 18(2): 477-489.
Young, S.B. (1999). Evaluation of pedestrian walking speeds in airport terminals, Transportation Research Record, 1674 (1): 20-26.
Zhu, Y. (2021). Research on the pedestrian evacuation experiment and simulation model in buildings considering human psychological factors. Ph.D. Thesis, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Built Environment and Sustainability
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright of articles that appear in International Journal of Built Environment and Sustainability belongs exclusively to Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Penerbit UTM Press). This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the article, including reprints, electronic reproductions or any other reproductions of similar nature.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- This Journal applies Creative Commons Licenses of CC-BY-NC-SA
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
